1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to a compact, self-contained, portable unit to safely provide critical care systems, and monitoring systems in a hyperbaric or recompression chamber environment. More particularly, the invention pertains to a unitary "Fly-Away" care system that is self-contained, rapidly transportable, and safely provides a ventilator, suction, and vital signs monitor including at least cardiac monitoring and rectal temperature monitoring for critical care in a hyperbaric or recompression chamber environment.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Through the many advances in equipment and procedures over the past 10 years, diving has become markedly safer. However, it is still possible for a diver to experience a serious injury for which advanced life support and recompression therapy may be needed. Some of the newer and more complex hyperbaric facilities have advanced care and monitoring equipment built into the recompression chambers. Unfortunately, there are very few of these facilities. Most complex facilities are devoted to research or hyperbaric therapy of non-diving related illnesses, and very few are located close to where a serious accident might happen. Most recompression chambers that are located close to the site where divers (divers includes military, civilian commercial and civilian sport divers) are working or recreating do not have advanced medical equipment to provide artificial ventilation or monitor vital signs. In addition, some of the older hospital hyperbaric chambers are not equipped with critical care equipment.
The only way to ventilate a non-breathing patient in most chambers is with hand bagging. The limitations of this method are: 1) inconsistent ventilation rate, tidal volume, and pressure, 2) inability to exhaust oxygen from hyperbaric chamber, 3) need for additional personnel, 4) fatigue of the operator.
In these older or simpler equipped chambers, monitoring vital signs is limited to intermittent, manually measured pulse rate, respiratory rate, temperature, and blood pressure. The limitations of these techniques are: 1) lack of continuous evaluation of patient status, 2) difficult to obtain in hyperbaric chamber (background noise) 3) limited amount of data available, and 4) requires extra personnel.
Equipment for monitoring vital signs and providing critical care services exist on the market place as individual stand-alone equipment. Most of the equipment contains electric motors, unshielded switches and other hazards not suitable for use in the hyperbaric and recompression type environment. In addition, most of this stand-alone equipment is carried on carts or similar equipment that does not fit rapidly, easily, or at all into a hyperbaric or recompression chamber.